Thursday, April 30, 2015

I've been told that the SABC has apparently immediately suspended 4 top financial staff - including Itani Tseisi, the SABC's head of risk and governance.

I've not been able to get confirmation from the SABC on these suspensions at the start of a long weekend, but I've made a media enquiry, I'm awaiting a response, and I will update this story as more information becomes available.

According to sources the shocking suspensions of the 4 senior SABC financial staff has to do with an investigation by the SABC as to who and what people allegedly leaked to the Sunday Times information regarding the SABC's financial statements.

According to the Sunday Times the SABC faces a loss of R500 million based on documents to be submitted to the auditor-general in May.

SABC News (DStv 404) put James Aguma, the SABC's chief financial officer (CFO) on television after the story appeared, saying the Sunday Times got the financial statements "illegally" and that its a "stolen document".

James Aguma said that its "unfortunate that we're forced to respond to issues in financial statements" which has not been subjected to audit.

Itani Iseisi is according to a source one of the people who has now been suspended by the SABC. Itani Tseisi is the SABC's group executive for risk and governance at the public broadcaster.

There's ongoing concern over the SABC's audience share which is flat at 53%, with the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi who cautioned that the public broadcaster will have to grow its audience.

Faith Muthambi told parliament last week that she's concerned that the SABC's audience share seems to remain stagnant at 53%.

The minister cautioned that new ways will have to be found for the SABC to grow its audience beyond this number.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago failed to respond to a media enquiry made last week asking the public broadcaster for comment as well as seeking any context and perspectives the SABC wants to share regarding its fight for audience share.

The SABC is well aware that about its viewership challenges and finding and keeping audiences tuned in.

TV with Thinus has an internal memo, compiled by and send to SABC TV executives in June last year, detailing key findings of an audience analysis of the SABC's three terrestrial TV channels - SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 - against the broader TV industry.

The SABC's findings noted "the glaring conclusion of the level to which the network had been shedding audiences over the years".

It shows how the SABC went from 100% audience share in 1976 when the public broadcaster was the only TV player in the country, falling to 49% by 2013 as M-Net launched in 1986, MultiChoice launched DStv in 1995, e.tv launched in 1998, On Digital Media (ODM) started TopTV (now StarSat) in 2010, Sabido started OpenView HD in 2014, and community TV stations like SowetoTV sprang up over the past few years.

Some of the interesting findings of the SABC's audience analysis was that "the SABC2 schedule only survives on two pillar programmes - 7de Laan at 18:30 and Muvhango at 21:00. Other than that the prime time schedule is weak".

On SABC3, the "the soaps Days of Our Lives and Bold and the Beautiful provide strong lead-ins into prime time," the internal memorandum noted.

According to the memo, "the essence of the SABC2 and SABC3 strategies are to reverse the audience declines over the last couple of years, by introducing compelling local content mixed with relevant international content that compliments and is aligned to the channels' new focused value propositions" through better scheduling and content.

In November last year the SABC released its 9th Request for Proposals (RFP) book to South Africa's TV industry, calling for specific local productions. According to the SABC, the value of the latest RFP book is R600 million, making it the largest RFP book issued by the public broadcaster for local content yet.

SABC3 is replacing Three Talk with Noeleen from Monday, 4 May at 16:00 with a new female-centric local talk show in the vein of The Talk and The View, with presenters Bonang Matheba and Jeannie D turning talk show hosts, hoping to bolster the channel's sagging afternoon ratings.

Afternoon Express will take over the 16:00 timeslot on SABC3 from Monday on weekdays, with Bonang Matheba - known as "Queen B" - and Jeannie D, both known as Top Billing presenters, as well as Bonnie Mbuli from e.tv's Traffic who will present the show as a live broadcast.

A 4th woman will join the existing three as a newbie on Afternoon Express within a month when the top 3 winners are announced from the Presenter Search on 3 reality show on SABC3, with the two others going to Top Billing and Expresso respectively.

Afternoon Express, produced by Tswelopele Productions which is also responsible for Top Billing, Presenter Search on 3 and other TV shows, will try to lift SABC3's viewership in the dull afternoon daypart similar to the ratings rejuvenation the morning breakfast show Expresso, also produced by the same company, brought to SABC3's early morning timeslot where viewership lagged.

With the added heavy lifting of the new weekday interactive afternoon talk show done from Cape Town, Bonang Matheba and Jeannie D will be featuring somewhat less on Top Billing in the future.

Afternoon Express, which will have a big social media interactive component in a sense similar to SABC2's afternoon youth block Hectic Nine-9,will cover female interests ranging from cooking and fashion to finance tips and inspirational stories and interviews. The show will also feature live musical performances similar to Expresso in the mornings.

"Afternoon Express is a first for South Africa and for SABC3," says Aisha Mohamed, SABC3 channel head. "To combine fun interaction, practical advice as well as engaging conversation into one show is definitely taking the quality of programming to the next level and we are proud to have this kind of uplifting and empowering content for women as part of our offering".

"The show will give women an opportunity to interact and engage daily," says Bradley van den Berg, Afternoon Express' executive producer, saying the talk show will inspire viewers "to take the courage to try something new and become their best selves".

"I am really excited to be stepping into a new terrain with SABC3 and the opportunity to co-host with Jeannie D and Bonnie," says Bonang Matheba.

"I'm very excited to be part of this experience and to be doing a new show with my Top Billing family," says Jeannie D. "This is a winning formula that keeps growing and growing."

"I'm so thrilled to be one of the hosts; it is a great concept and there is so much to look forward to," says Bonnie Mbuli. "I don't think there has ever been a more exciting time for television in South Africa - I can't wait".

"We hope that making a date with Afternoon Express will be making an appointment to have fun," says Patience Stevens, the managing director of Tswelopele Productions.

"We have three of the country's most talented presenters, we are very excited to have this opportunity and we are looking forward to this challenge".

SABC News (DStv 404) then puts James Aguma, the SABC's chief financial officer (CFO) on television to say the Sunday Times got the financial statements "illegally" and that its a "stolen document" (the SABC should perhaps go make a case at the police for theft and get a case number?).James Aguma on SABC TV says its "unfortunate that we're forced to respond to issues in financial statements" which has not been subjected to audit.

BBC Worldwide is fast changing its channels to BBC First, BBC Earth and BBC Brit.
While we're still waiting for BBC Entertainment, BBC Knowledge and BBC Lifestyle on MultiChoice's DStv to change to these three new channels, BBC Worldwide is rolling out and replacing the existing channels with the rebranded new ones across Europe.
BBC First, BBC Earth and BBC Brit are now the new "global genre channels" fast replacing the old ones.
BBC Worldwide says regionalised BBC Brit and BBC Earth channels are coming to Africa and South Africa.

Sky is dropping one of its two arts TV channels.
We don't even have any such channels in South Africa on DStv or StarSat or OpenView HD. Sky will now rather create one "super channel" for the arts with a bigger budget and with less repeats.

The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) has ordered the SABC to apologise to the EFF political party on-air before tomorrow afternoon following the shocking live, on-air outburts by the now-removed SABC News (DStv 404) anchor and "Grand Inquisitor" Eben Jansen.

The SABC already apologised in writing earlier this month and already made an earlier on-air apology for the interview incident the SABC called "completely uncalled for and unprofessional" and which happened on The Newsroom on 9 April on the SABC's 24-hour TV news channel.

The Newsroom anchor Eben Jansen became confrontational with the EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi who was invited to the show as a guest and was then rudely dismissed after the interview quickly devolved into a FOX News style shouting match.

Viewers described the interview as "petty, childish and unprofessional", wondering why Eben Jansen is using words like "Red Indians" and his attitude described as "embarrassing and unprofessional".

Viewer Jarred Cinman laid a complaint directly with the BCCSA, writing that Eben Jansen's on-air behaviour was "biased, unprofessional, rude and embarrassing" and that the on-air fighting "is not news: it is either journalistic incompetence or political bias".

In a hearing BCCSA commissioner Dr. Lynda Gilfillan found that Mbuyiseni Ndlozi was "interrupted and ridiculed" and also denied the opportunity to answer questions.

Dr. Lynda Gilfillan said Eben Jansen's "generally scornful demeanour and bullying behaviour could be described as grossly unprofessional. And the severity of his unprofessionalism puts it in breach of the BCCSA code".

Dr. Lynda Gilfillan said Eben Jansen came across as "apparently relishing his role of Grand Inquisitor" with the interview which was turned into "an inquisition rather than an inquiry".

The BCCSA ruled that the SABC and SABC News "cannot simply be let off with a slap on the wrist".

The BCCSA ruled that the SABC and SABC News must broadcast an apology at the beginning of The Newsroom on the DStv news channel before Thursday.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The SABC and MultiChoice will launch its rerun entertainment channel, called SABC Encore, on 11 May on channel 156 on DStv at 17:00.

The launch of SABC Encore, which formerly would have been called SABC Entertainment, forms part of a now controversial deal with the public broadcaster under which the SABC is supposed to supply MultiChoice with two TV channels.

The SABC launched SABC News (DStv 404) in August 2013 and now SABC Encore will finally start broadcasting from May. It was supposed to start on DStv a few months after SABC News launched but has been delayed.

SABC News and SABC Encore as TV channels are both essentially a do-over for the SABC.

The SABC had SABC News International as a struggling 24-hour TV news channel and SABC Africa as a general entertainment channel, running on DStv before they were both shuttered after a few years due to non-performance.

MultiChoice terminated SABC Africa as a SABC supplied TV channel on DStv at the end of July 2008 with the SABC and MultiChoice which said the channel "is no longer viable" due to poor performance.

The SABC closed down SABC News International in March 2010 since it became too expensive to operate during the period when the SABC's cash crunch crises and management woes started to escalate.

In a new contract between MultiChoice and the SABC, signed by the public broadcaster's chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the new two channel deal was signed in 2013 with SABC Encore which is now ready to launch.

The launch of SABC Encore was largely dependent on the digitisation of the SABC's archives which MultiChoice is helping the public broadcaster with and which forms part of the overall content supply contract.

Retro gold
SABC Encore will be a retro, "golden oldies" TV channel, similar to what the M-Net supplied Series Channel was when it launched on DStv and what FOX Retro was when it launched on TopTV, now StarSat. Both those channels with a channel proposition of catering to TV nostalgia lovers, have since been closed down.

SABC Encore will be filled with old local programming from the SABC archives, mostly titles from the 1980s and 1990s in various genres and in various South African languages.

"SABC Encore is a celebration of the SABC content which has been produced over the years," Verona Duwarkah, the SABC's group executive in charge of television, told SABC News. "SABC Encore allows us as South Africans to celebrate the past."

SABC Encore as a TV channel will be available on all of MultiChoice's differently priced DStv bouquets, says the SABC.

SABC Encore will run from 17:00 to 23:00 on weekdays with programming spanning children's shows like Pumpkin Patch to Afrikaans drama series like Agter Elke Man, and the sci-fi puppetry show Interster.

Other SABC Encore programming will include Kideo, Lesilo Rula, Shaka Zulu and Hlala Kwabafileyo. SABC Encore will target an audience aged 37 to 70, mostly South African viewers who grew up watching the SABC's then TV1, TV2 and TV3 channels.

"The Entertainment channel as it was contractually called, is actually called SABC Encore. It is a celebration of the SABC's content which has been produced over the years," says Verona Duwarkah.

The channel is made up of all sorts of genres - all from the SABC's archives.

"Sometimes you'll even laugh at the quality of the actual production in the old days, because we've learnt so much".

There was no joint statement from the SABC and MultiChoice on Tuesday, as is usual, when the addition and details of a new TV channel on DStv is announced.

"We welcome SABC Encore to the DStv platform. Viewers can expect to see some of the SABC's classics when it's launched on channel 156 on 11 May. It will be a real trip down memory lane for parents, who will be able to share watching some golden oldies with their children."

The launch of SABC Encore takes the SABC back to 5 active TV channels - the two broadcasting on MultiChoice's DStv exclusively - and SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 as analogue TV channels also carried on the satellite TV platforms of On Digital Media's StarSat and the Sabido owned OpenView HD (OVHD) from Platco Digital.

Controversial contract
The contract of the SABC's supply of the two channels - SABC News and SABC Encore - to MultiChoice's DStv is currently part of a case before South Africa's Competition Tribunal brought by Caxton, together with Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) and the civil society public broadcasting pressure group SOS Coalition.

They say the contract essentially constitutes a "merger" between MultiChoice and the SABC and that the contract not only gives MultiChoice "undue exclusive access to SABC content", but also places MultiChoice in a position to influence SABC policy.

Caxton, MMA and the SOS Coalition is arguing that the deal is not in the public interest and that the deal works against the long-term interest of the SABC as well as the South African public.

MultiChoice says it rejects the allegations and says that there is nothing wrong with its relationship with the SABC. "This is a standard commercial agreement for the supply of two television channels".

(At 08:29 we find out that Hlaudi Motsoeneng on Friday morning is at work and having a meeting with MetroFM DJ's.)

(Note the total lack of any explainer from the SABC about why there is a court case in the first place; the complete absence of any background or context to viewers about what is being appealed and why - why the Public Protector and Hlaudi Motsoeneng is involved in this court case.)

No more live UEFA Champions League on e.tv.
e.tv no longer has the live free-to-air broadcasting rights. UEFA Champions League semi-finals are moved to OpenView HD's eKasi+ channel and e.tv viewers will have to tune in at 22:00 for delayed broadcasts.

MultiChoice is looking for Southern African TV content and films.
What it actually is for, is for the new, yet-to-launch Zambezi Magic TV channel which I haven't yet had time to write about, but which M-Net will be launching later this year on MultiChoice's DStv as a Southern Africa movie channel with African content from several Southern African countries like Botswana, Zimbabwe and others.

South Africa is trying to limit the fallout when we miss the DTT deadline.
South Africa will miss the deadline to complete the ITU's switch from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting (DTT) by 15 June 2015. Now the desperate department of communications and minister of communications Faith Muthambi is trying to talk to other Southern African countries to please not interfere with their broadcasting signals in South Africa's space.

Trevor Noah's biggest problem is becoming clear.
Bloomberg reports on the "increasingly poisonous atmosphere" around The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) as Trevor Noah is set to take over from September and why it has become less about being funny and more about people who are into so-called "left-wing" politics.

Watch FOX's Wayward Pines globally 2 weeks before it starts.
FOX (StarSat 131 / DStv 125) and FOX International Channels (FIC) is allowing viewers across 126 countries and territories, including South Africa, to watch the first episode of Wayward Pines two weeks before it starts showing internationally on FOX through Facebook, FOX.com, Google Play etc.

Showrunner Shonda Rhimes shockingly (and cruelly) killed off and wrote out the character of dr Derek Shepard (Patrick Dempsey) on Grey's Anatomy in the show's 11th season, raising questions about Grey's Anatomy's future and longevity.

Patrick Dempsey gave his short statement to TV Line, saying "It's been a remarkable ride" and that "I will forever be grateful and humbled by the experience".

Stunned Grey's Anatomy viewers are angry and furious over the senseless killing, saying "Shonda you created a death sentence for your own show,", "Without knowing it, you let your ego get the best of you and you just destroyed the best show you have on TV" and "Years and years we've given to watching this story unfold and you just rip it out from under us? No way! This was horrible".

Watching Grey's Anatomy after Derek's death is now pointless, says the New York Post. CNN calls the Grey's Anatomy death a nightmare.Slate calls it "crushing" and says Shonda Rhimes ripped millions of viewers' hearts out.

How the Grey's Anatomy cast found out that McDreamy is killed off: Shonda Rhimes gathered them together and gave them the shocking news while they "couldn't imagine killing off a character like Derek" - refuses to say whether Patrick Dempsey was present (very likely not).

ABC is clearly in crisis mode and trying to do damage control and want to help Shonda Rhimes "rectify" or minimise the huge damage by re-editing and trying to "improve" and expand on what happens next.

E! Entertainment (DStv 124) has just announced that it will show an 8 episode reality series in which Bruce Jenner, who confirmed on Friday that he is changing from a man to a woman, will look for his "new normal" on the channel from 26 July.

The as-yet-untitled series with hour long episodes will be shown on E! Entertainment in the United States, as well as on E! Entertainment on MultiChoice's DStv in South Africa and across Africa, as well as on all the other international versions of E!.

The reality docuseries will explore how Bruce Jenner, now calling himself a woman and how his transition from man to woman, affects his relationships with all the people in his life, while at the same time attempting to offer a better understanding of his challenges.

The former Olympic gold medal winneris already linked to E! Entertainment through the Keeping Up with the Kardashians reality show over eight seasons and its various spin-offs, and now his own show will look at how he is changing, living and interacting as a transgender woman.

Bruce Jenner will leave Keeping Up with the Kardashians at the end of the current 8th season of the show and appear only in his own show, saying that "the one real, true story in the family was the one I was hiding and nobody knew about".

There's been speculation for months that Bruce Jenner would chronicle his change to a woman in front of the reality cameras, separate from the Kardashian clan who are not all approving of the gender transition.

"Bruce is incredibly courageous and an inspiration, and we are proud to be entrusted with this deeply personal and important story," says Jeff Olde, the executive vice president of programming and development at E!.

"This series will present an unfiltered look as Bruce boldly steps into uncharted territory and is true to himself for the first time". The reality show is produced by Bunim/Murray Productions with Bruce Jenner as one of the executive producers.

On Friday night in a 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer, Bruce Jenner (65) told her that "I am a woman" and that "As of now, I have all the male parts and all that kind of stuff, so in a lot of ways we're different, OK? But we still identify as female".

South African viewers just saw the revelation and start of the transformation of American football Coach Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones) in the 3rd episode of the 6th and final season of Glee on VUZU AMP (DStv 114) in which the character revealed that she's been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and will be undergoing imminent surgery to transition and become a man.

Friday, April 24, 2015

After the Western Cape High Court yesterday ordered (for a 2nd time) that the SABC immediately suspend the controversial Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the SABC's famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) once again found himself mired news headlines.

Media students, journalism pundits, public broadcasters experts, and anyone interested in media will enjoy this self-revealing and very telling exercise in the propaganda machine the SABC's news division has become insofar as reporting on its own management and executive troubles are concerned.

The SABC is supposed to be objective, fair and unbiased in its news reporting. Watch, compare and decide for yourself who is spinning the news and who is blatantly giving TV viewers a distorted view of a news event that happened.

First take a look at how the SABC as South Africa's public broadcaster put a spin on the Western Cape High Court judgement that its chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng must be suspended immediately on Thursday 24 April.

This is the news package the SABC carried on SABC News (DStv 404) as well as across SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 with the same strange angle, framing it as "Hlaudi Motsoeneng has successfully launched an appeal against this morning's Cape High Court appeal ruling."

Note the inclusion of the words: "Adding to the DA's legal woes..." It's actually Hlaudi Motsoeneng who is mired in legal woes and who is being taken to court.

Note how the SABC lawyer is saying the judgment is putting the SABC in crisis. The reality is actually that its the SABC refusing to act on the Public Protector's report on Hlaudi Motsoeneng and to suspend him which has been putting the SABC into a crisis.

Note how the SABC News story on Hlaudi Motsoeneng flat-out ignores and doesn't have a single word or why the court case exists, why and what Hlaudi Motsoeneng is appealing, why Hlaudi Motsoeneng was taken to court.

The SABC News insert makes not a single mention of the implications, there's not a single source or opposing view who is not part of the SABC, and not a single talking head in the piece not linked to Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Somebody watching this with no prior knowledge of what the story is about, will not have any real sense of the real news watching this badly done and blatantly slanted SABC News insert.

Now look at how eNCA (DStv 403) covered the court ordered suspension of Hlaudi Motsoeneng - the second time the court ordered the SABC to suspend Hlaudi Motsoeneng immediately.

It's a much more "real", balanced, "truthful", objective, longer and more comprehensive.

The eNCA story gives background, history, perspective. It explains what is really going on. It also gives the other side. eNCA also had a guest in studio from an independent public broadcasting pressure group to weigh in.

ANN7 (DStv 405) did a great, balanced story about Hlaudi Motsoeneng's latest court suspension order, just like eNCA (DStv 403), with tons of actual, factual background and perspective.

A viewer who've never heard of the drama, the court case or the issues and who had no prior knowledge of what is going on, would be completely clued in with a well-structured, great story which almost borders on the academic - not that that's a bad thing at all.

Like eNCA, the ANN7 story says why there is a court case in the first place - unlike SABC News which blatantly censors and is shying away from giving viewers actual background and facts on the case.

The ANN7 story could have been a bit more fair by including an opposing viewpoint or guest in the story, but all in all a very good story.

End tally: eNCA best with multiple guests from various sides shedding light on the issue. then ANN7.

SABC News is on the whole other side of the spectrum with deplorably bad "journalism" if it can even be called that. Slanted "propaganda" as far as this specific issue is concerned is probably a better term. Also keep in mind that it directly affects, and involves the SABC, its executives and management.

It's probably too much to ask or expect from the SABC to do an unbiased story; but then again the SABC is the public broadcaster, and should be impartial and unbiased in its news reporting. This story is an example of how it's not.

On Friday morning MultiChoice said in response to Thursday evening's media enquiry that "there was a problem with the feed to MultiCHoice and the channel was back on-air approximately 5 minutes later".

Samsung will be adding Times Media's VIDI video streaming service and the music streaming service Simfy Africa to its new range of Tizen TV's as apps.

The apps are in development and Samsung gave no date of when the apps would be launched on the TV sets.

Times Media launched VIDI in September last year.

"VIDI, a video-on-demand (VOD) application is being developed which will provide consumers with 30 days of free access and Simy Africa, an online music streaming service, with more than 20 million songs for 90 days for free access," Matthew Thackrah, the deputy director and head of consumer electronics at Samsung Electronics SA said on Wednesday night at a product launch.

"Details of these value-adds will be made available once all development and testing has been concluded," said Matthew Thackrah.

The apps will make it easier for Samsung users to stream video and music through their TV sets.

Samsung is apparently also working with eNCA (DStv 403) to get news and weather content for users. Samsung is also working with Vonetize to launch Aflix, offering Hollywood movies, TV series and other video entertainment content to consumers in 30 African countries.

Samsung unveiled a new range of curved SUHD TV sets for South Africa. From this year, all of Samsung's Smart TV's, including the new SUHD, will be powered by Tizen, an open-source platform that supports web standards for app development.

Later on Thursday the SABC said in a statement on behalf of Prof. Obert Maguvhe, the SABC's acting chairperson that "the SABC will lodge an immediate appeal on today's ruling by the Western Cape High Court to suspend its chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng".

Later on Thursday Hlaudi Motsoeneng's lawyer, Zola Majavu, confirmed that Hlaudi Motsoeneng would appeal the judgment.

It followed after the Democratic Alliance filed the application, demanding that Hlaudi Motsoeneng be suspended by the SABC following the Public Protector's scathing report on the SABC and Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

The Public Protector's report implicated Hlaudi Motsoeneng in maladministration and corruption at the public broadcaster, finding that "Hlaudi Motsoeneng should never have been appointed at the SABC" and that he should be suspended.

According to the Public Protector, Hlaudi Motsoeneng lied about having a matric certificate and made up symbols for a matric certificate he knew he didn't have and couldn't produce.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng was implicated as having been involved in getting rid of everyone who testified against him in an earlier disciplinary hearing at the SABC, and his salary increased from R1.5 million to R2.4 million at the SABC in one year.

The Public Protector's report advised the SABC to appoint a new COO within 90 days. Instead the SABC appointed Hlaudi Motsoeneng in the position permanently.

Judge Ashton Schippers said that "organs of state cannot ignore the Public Protector's remedial action".

The court ordered the SABC to start disciplinary proceedings againt Hlaudi Motsoeneng to be conducted by an independent person.

"Good administration of the SABC and openness and accountability, demand his suspension," Judge Ashton Schippers ruled, saying that the allegations against Hlaudi Motsoeneng is serious.

Judge Ashton Schippers ordered the SABC and the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, to pay the legal costs of the court application.

In today's judgement again ordering Hlaudi Motsoeneng to be immediately suspended, Judge Ashton Schippers granted the leave to appeal‚ but said that Hlaudi Motsoeneng should immediately be suspended pending the outcome of the appeal.

"It is common cause that the appeal process might take a considerable period of time and that a suspension of the order will mean that Hlaudi Motsoeneng will remain in the position of chief operating officer whilst the appeal process runs its course.

"[Therefore] the disregard of the Public Protector's findings and remedial action by the SABC and the minister will remain unremedied. In my view‚ this state of affairs also constitutes irreparable harm to the public interest."

"By contrast‚ Hlaudi Motsoeneng will not suffer irreparable prejudice. As stated in the judgment‚ any prejudice that he might suffer will be significantly contained - he will suffer no loss of remuneration and the suspension is of a limited period."

"And he may be found not guilty on the allegations of misconduct that have been hanging over him for years. Such a result could only serve the interests of Hlaudi Motsoeneng‚ as well as those of the SABC."

A judge will today rule whether the urgent court interdict should be enforced against the SABC's chief operating officer and famously matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng and whether he should immediately be suspended by the SABC.

It followed after the Democratic Alliance filed the application, demanding that Hlaudi Motsoeneng be suspended by the SABC following the Public Protector's scathing report on the SABC and Hlaudi Motsoeneng, implicating him in maladministration and corruption at the public broadcaster and saying that "Hlaudi Motsoeneng should never have been appointed at the SABC".

According to the Public Protector, Hlaudi Motsoeneng lied about having a matric certificate and made up symbols for a matric certificate he knew he didn't have and couldn't produce.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng was implicated as having been involved in getting rid of everyone who testified against him in an earlier disciplinary hearing at the SABC, and his salary increased from R1.5 million to R2.4 million at the SABC in one year.

The Public Protector's report advised the SABC to appoint a new COO within 90 days. Instead the SABC appointed Hlaudi Motsoeneng in the position permanently.

The Food Network (DStv 175) celebrity chefs Jenny Morris and Reza Mahammad have teamed up and are filming a brand new edutainment cooking teaching show Jenny & Reza's Fabulous Food Academy in South Africa which will be broadcast on the channel from later this year.It's the first TV production in which Jenny Morris and Reza Mahammad, both beloved and recognised faces on the Food Network in their own shows, are starring and working together as co-presenters of the new show teaching would-be chefs how to create a delicious feast while passing on cooking tips.Jenny & Reza's Fabulous Food Academy, a first season which will consist out of 25 half hour episodes, was commissioned by Scripps Networks UK & Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with filming which recently started at Okuhle Media's studios in Cape Town.

Jenny & Reza's Fabulous Food Academy was commissioned by Gareth Williams, the vice president for commissioning at Scripps Networks UK & EMEA, with Louise McClelland of Okuhle Media as executive producer.In Jenny & Reza's Fabulous Food AcademyJenny Morris and Reza Mahammad help amateur chefs across South Africa in their custom-designed studio with tips and techniques on how to cook like a professional.From basics to Mediterranean and Asian-inspired dishes, the chefs bring their unique and now combined sense of humour to this new show as they put the participants through their paces."We are proud to be launching a new format with Jenny and Reza who have been a huge hit with our audiences across the region," says Phillip Luff, the managing director for Scripps Networks UK & EMEA."Our continued investment in our talent and original commissions has allowed for us to expand our portfolio as one of the world's leading producers of engaging lifestyle content."

SABC2 is finally adding a sprinkling of new content to its schedule from May, with a new season of Abo Mzala jumping from SABC1 to SABC2, the American drama series Pretty Little Liars and The Jamie Foxx Show.

SABC2 says in a press statement the channel is "excited" to share highlights coming to the channel in May with the second season of the local sitcom Majakathata Records starting on 3 May at 20:00. The sitcom is set in the small town of Hammanskraal where an old bakery has been turned into a music studio.

Sibongile Nojila replaces Gladys Tshabalala in the role of Ous Dipsy and Sello Zikalala takes over the role of Nkadimeng from Daniel Maphatseng who died.

The 4th season of Gospel Classics continues and will still feature gospel singer Sfiso Ncwane, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and The Bala Brothers.

The American drama series Pretty Little Liars shown on VUZU on DStv and which finished its 5th season last month will start on SABC2 on 4 May at 20:00. It follows four teenage girls - Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily - who are tormented by a mysterious stranger known as "A" who knows all their secrets.

Four years since the first season of sitcom Abo Mzala was shown on SABC1 the sitcom is now revived and jumping to SABC2 starting Saturday 9 May at 20:00. The sitcom revolves around four single domestic workers - Thuli, Ella, Zodwa and Thandi - doing whatever they can to find Mister Right.

The 90's American sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show will start on SABC2 on 28 May at 20:00.

SABC2 will broadcast the 90th Comrades Marathon live on Sunday 31 May from 05:00 until 18:00.

No official police charges have yet been laid in Big Brother Mzansi's alleged rape incident which plunged the low-brow reality show shown on MultiChoice's DStv into scandal last week, but the matter has been reported to the police.

Big Brother Mzansi is produced by Endemol Shine Africa, and broadcast on M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) as well as two 24/7 Big Brother Mzansi TV channels on DStv channels 197 and 198.

Scandal once again engulfed the show last week when Endemol Shine Africa booted the male contestant Adams (Siyanda Ngwenya, 24, Estcourt) and also removed the woman, Bexx (Axola Mbengo, 26 from Queenstown) "for her well-being" from the voyeuristic reality show last Monday evening, following alleged "sexual misconduct" which took place on Saturday night.It came after Adams bragged to other contestants that he "dipped her but I don't think she remembers because she passed out". The distraught woman later told fellow contestants that she didn't consent to any sex with the man on Saturday night.

Earlier on the same night, she was pressed in-between the same man and another male contestant and were kissed and groped against her will. Both men were then cautioned by the producers about their inappropriate behaviour but were left in the house.

An evening of heavy drinking followed - the show regularly plies contestants with alcohol who booze it up into the late hours - after which the alleged rape incident occured.

Although the reality show house is filled with cameras, M-Net says it is not certain of exactly what happened. It's also not clear why Endemol Shine Africa producers didn't step in to intervene immediately when they could no longer see what is happening to the contestants.

Last week M-Net appointed the law firm, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr - paid by M-Net, to investigate the incident of alleged sexual misconduct.

During last year's season of Big Brother Mzansi, M-Net called a man hitting a woman in the show "an isolated incident".

M-Net tells TV with Thinus that Endemol Shine Africa has reported the matter to
the police. At this time however no charges have been laid.

M-Net says it "views the incident in a serious
light" and is reiterating that "the well-being of the contestants remains of utmost importance".

M-Net confirms that both contestants are now back
home. "Any possible further action will be informed by
the findings of the investigation," says the pay-TV broadcaster.

The Sunday Times on Sunday reported that Axola Mbengo who was allegedly kept away from her family in the hotel she was placed in after she was removed from the house, made a secret call to her family to say that she "wasn't supposed to talk to the outside world".

A family member said Axola Mbengo was getting legal advice, but was worried that the lawyer "could be working for the Big Brother Mzansi people, trying to fix the matter for themselves so that their name is not ruined".

M-Net didn't respond to specific questions put to the pay-TV broadcaster asking whether the contestants were indeed held against their will in the hotel and not allowed to communicate and call family members, how long the investigation is expected to take, and when there would be a report.

Auditions have opened for SA's Got Talent with the reality show returning for a 6th season.

It will mark the 4th season of SA's Got Talent on e.tv since the show, produced by Rapid Blue, jumped from SABC2 after the first two seasons to e.tv.

House DJ, Thato "Fresh" Sikwane and Lalla Hirayama who joined as new judges the previous season will both be back again with longtime judge Shado Twala, and SA's Got Talent presenter Tats Nkonzo also remains.Auditions for the 6th season of SA's Got Talent will take place in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town during May.Contestants can pre-register and register for SA's Got Talent by emailing talent@rapidblue.com and ask for an entry form and send in a completed entry form which will secure a spot at the nationwide auditions. Contestants can also show up on the day at 07:00 and fill in a form at the various audition venues.Contestants need to bring their ID, must "dress like a star", and bring all their props and whatever they need for their act to impress the judges with them on the day.SA's Got Talent auditions will take place at the following venues:Durban (16 May)Olive Convention Centre (81 Somtseu Road)Johannesburg (23, 24 May)Focus Rooms (1, The Core, Leeuwkop Road & Kikuyu Road, Sunninghill)Cape Town (30, 31 May)Belmont Square Conference Centre (Belmont Road, Rosebank)

Held against her will in hotel and prevented from calling her family?The Sunday Times reports that the Big Brother Mzansi contestant who was allegedly raped in the Endemol Shine Africa and Mzansi Magic reality show has been kept against her will, allegedly, in a hotel and she allegedly "sneaked" in a call and told a family member she was told not to talk to "the outside world".

The StarSat blackout which hit on Monday afternoon and Tuesday and saw the satellite pay-TV service in South Africa go dead was caused by a problem at the uplink site in Slovenia used by the operator.

Subscribers of the struggling StarSat, run by On Digital Media (ODM) and China's StarTimes Media SA, lost their channels on Monday afternoon, with no word or explanation from the Woodmead-based company as to what happened, why or when their service would be restored.

Angry StarSat subscribers also complained about being unable to get through to StarSat's call centre on Monday and Tuesday, only getting a recording saying the number is "unobtainable".

On Monday and Tuesday morning email and faxes to StarSat also didn't go through.

The transmission was restored on Tuesday afternoon. StarSat subscribers complained about the lack of communication from StarSat during the crisis and being unable to get any answers as to what is happening and what they have to do to restore their service.

A StarSat spokesperson told TV with Thinus that the problem with the signal loss was caused due to a broken fibre link to the uplink site in Slovenia.

The StarSat signal loss also caused different problems on the different StarSat decoders - the original TopTV branded ones, as well as the never HD capable StarSat branded ones imported from China.

StarSat explained that the email problem was a separate one and has been sorted out.

StarSat said its call centre was overloaded with calls, which is the reason why its subscribers battled to get through.

Scared and confused StarSat subscribers who engulfed StarSat's Facebook page, wondered whether StarSat has gone "belly up" since the company is still in business rescue and didn't get any answers on Monday. On Tuesday there was only a single short message, almost a day after the problem first started.

"Please be assured that StarSat is not going out of business but is still in operation," a spokesperson told TV with Thinus.

After StarSat said the transmission was restored, StarSat subscribers are still reporting problems and being unable to get the signal and their TV channels back through their decoders. StarSat has not publicly posted or informed subscribers how to go about resetting or rebooting their decoders.

Several StarSat subscribers complained of wasting a lot of money waiting on hold trying to get through to the call centre in an attempt to hear what they have to do.

"Do we get credit for the time that we can't get service? After all you are quick to cut service if the subscription lapses," asked Evan Davies.

"StarSat. What is going on?" said Michelle le Roux on Tuesday, echoing the shock, frustration and anger of many StarSat subscribers.

"This is the poorest service I have ever experienced in my life.Your service is the poorest," said Thea Botes.

"How about answering a phone! Or giving one that actually goes through to a consultant. I have wasted R150 on calls last night," said Charmaine Vorster.

"My mom is a pensioner and has spent sooo much money on airtime trying to sort her problem out. StarSat your service is pathetic," said Jeshika Maharaj.

About Me

is an independent TV critic, writer and journalist in South Africa and reports breaking news about the TV industry. He writes trend and analysis pieces about the TV business and continues to write extensively about TV - chronicling what's on it and happening behind the scenes.